Make Your Own Mad Libs

I loved Mad Libs as a kid, spending many fun afternoons and car trips creating goofy, mixed up stories. My kids are now at the perfect age to enjoy Mad Libs and I’m going to spend Spring Break introducing them to this simple, silly game. Looking at our new pad of Mad Libs had me thinking, though. Why not make your own Mad Libs and practice language, vocabulary, and grammar while having a crazy, fun time?

How to Make Your Own Mad Libs

Making your own Mad Libs is easy, inexpensive, and fun. You only need a few supplies, a basic understanding of grammar, and your imagination! You can find a story or joke and remove words or make up your own fill in the blank story.

Step 1: Choose a Theme

Mad Libs are organized by themes, such as sports, fairy tales, and headlines. Choosing a theme will help you create a story or search for short stories or news clippings to use. You can, of course, select multiple themes as you go along.

Step 2A: Write a Story (or skip to Step 2B to Find a Story)

My kids love to tell stories and we even play a fun game called Story Speller. They start by choosing a character (pirate, lion, fairy, etc) and then drawing cards to help them build a story (nouns, adjectives, actions). You could easily build a story the same way to make your own Mad Libs.

Example: 

Theme: Pets 

Main Character: Boy

Pet Wanted: Puppy

Story

All of my life I wanted a puppy to play with in the backyard. A puppy would be so cute, soft, and cuddly. We would play catch together every afternoon and she would sleep next to my bed at night. My mom says I can’t have a puppy until I learn to clean my bedroom and take out the trash. I hate cleaning, but I’ll do it if I can have a silly puppy to play with!

Step 2B: Find a Story

If you don’t want to write your own story to make your own Mad Libs, find one! This can be a brief fairy tale, quotes, famous saying, newspaper clipping, or a short story.

Example Quotes:

A penny saved is a penny earned.

“Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.”

“The only way to have a friend is to be one.”

Story Ideas:  English for Students Short Moral Stories, One Minute Fairy Tales from Shari Lewis.

Step 3: Remove Words to Make Your Own Mad Lib

To make a Mad Lib, return to your story and highlight the words you want to replace. Identify the type of word you want to replace – noun, verb, adverb, adjective – and put that in the blank.

Quick Tips:

A noun is a person, place, or thing.

A Verb is an action.

An adverb usually ends in “ly” and describes an action. Examples are quickly and busily.

An adjective describes a person, place, or thing.

You might also be more specific, like saying “an animal” or “verb ending in ing” or “plural noun” to help the story make sense.

Example:

All of my NOUN I wanted a ANIMAL to VERB with in the PLACE. A ANIMAL would be so ADJECTIVE, soft, and cuddly. We would VERB GAME together every afternoon and she would VERB next to my NOUN at night. My PERSON says I can’t have a ANIMAL until I learn to VERB my PLACE and take out the NOUN. I hate VERB ENDING IN “ING”, but I’ll do it if I can have a ADJECTIVE ANIMAL to VERB with!

Step 4: Type Up Your Mad LIB with blanks and print it out! 

Type up your Mad Libs and print them out, so you can play! We printed on the back of recycled paper, making it a more eco-friendly game! Be sure to save a copy on your computer so you can play again.

How to write under a line in Microsoft Word:

1. Place your cursor where you want your “fill in the blank” word.
2. Press Ctrl + F9 simultaneously to create brackets.
3. Paste (Ctrl V) EQ \x \to() inside the brackets.
4. Put the word, such as “noun” or “verb” you want below the line between the parenthesis.
5. Place spaces before and after the word in the parenthesis to make the line longer.
6. Right click on the field code and select “Toggle Field Code” from the menu to show text.
7. If you need to edit the text, just right click and select “Toggle Field Code” again.

Step 5: Take Turns Filling Out Your Mad Libs Together!

Here are my daughter Ella’s answers to my Mad Lib.

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